VocDB API Deep Dive: Endpoints, Examples, and Integration Notes

VocDB API Deep Dive: Endpoints, Examples, and Integration Notes—

This article provides a comprehensive, practical exploration of the VocDB API — its endpoints, request/response formats, authentication, common integration patterns, and code examples in multiple languages. Whether you’re embedding VocDB into a language-learning app, building analytics around vocabulary acquisition, or creating custom flashcard systems, this deep dive will help you design robust, efficient integrations.

Overview

VocDB is a vocabulary management and retrieval service designed to store, query, and analyze multilingual word data, example sentences, pronunciations, and learning metadata (e.g., proficiency levels, spaced repetition scheduling). The API exposes RESTful endpoints (JSON) and supports token-based authentication, bulk import/export, search, and analytics.

Authentication and Rate Limits

Authentication: Bearer token in the Authorization header.
- Example: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN
Rate limits: Typical tiers impose limits like 100 requests/minute for standard plans and higher for enterprise. Endpoints may have per-resource throttling.
Use exponential backoff with jitter for 429 and 5xx responses.

Base URL and Common Headers

Base URL (example): https://api.vocdb.example.com/v1
Common headers:
- Content-Type: application/json
- Accept: application/json
- Authorization: Bearer

Resource Model (Quick)

Word: id, lemma, language, part_of_speech, definitions[], pronunciations[], tags[], difficulty
ExampleSentence: id, text, language, word_ids[], source
UserVocabularyEntry: id, user_id, word_id, familiarity_score, last_reviewed, srs_level
Collection: id, name, description, owner_id, word_ids[]
Analytics: aggregated stats per user/word/collection

Endpoints — Reference and Examples

Authentication

POST /auth/token

Request: API key/secret to exchange for Bearer token.
Response: access_token, expires_in, token_type

Example request:

POST /v1/auth/token Content-Type: application/json {   "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",   "api_secret": "YOUR_API_SECRET" }

Example response:

{   "access_token": "eyJhbGciOi...",   "token_type": "Bearer",   "expires_in": 3600 }

Words

GET /words

Description: List words with filtering, pagination, and sorting.
Query params: q (search), language, pos, tag, difficulty, page, per_page, sort_by
Response: paginated list of Word objects.

Example request:

GET /v1/words?q=serendipity&language=en Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN

POST /words

Create a new word entry.
Body: lemma, language, part_of_speech, definitions[], pronunciations[], tags[]
Response: created Word object.

Example request:

POST /v1/words Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json {   "lemma": "serendipity",   "language": "en",   "part_of_speech": "noun",   "definitions": ["the occurrence of events by chance in a beneficial way"],   "pronunciations": [{"ipa": "ˌsɛrənˈdɪpɪti"}],   "tags": ["rare", "positive"] }

GET /words/{word_id}

Fetch a single word by ID, including linked example sentences and analytics.

PATCH /words/{word_id}

Partial update for metadata (e.g., tags, difficulty).

DELETE /words/{word_id}

Remove a word (soft delete by default).

Example Sentences

GET /sentences

Filters: language, word_id, contains, source, page, per_page

POST /sentences

Body: text, language, word_ids[], source

Example:

POST /v1/sentences Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json {   "text": "Finding serendipity in everyday life brightens the spirit.",   "language": "en",   "word_ids": ["word_12345"],   "source": "user_upload" }

GET /sentences/{sentence_id} PATCH /sentences/{sentence_id} DELETE /sentences/{sentence_id}

User Vocabulary & SRS

GET /users/{user_id}/vocab

Returns a user’s saved vocabulary entries with SRS metadata.

POST /users/{user_id}/vocab

Add a word to user vocabulary. Body: word_id, initial_familiarity, tags

PATCH /users/{user_id}/vocab/{entry_id}

Update familiarity_score, last_reviewed, srs_level

DELETE /users/{user_id}/vocab/{entry_id}

SRS review endpoint: POST /users/{user_id}/review

Body: { “entries”: [{“entry_id”:“…”, “result”:“correct|incorrect”, “response_time_ms”:…}], “timestamp”: “ISO8601” }
Response: updated entries with new srs_level and next_review_date.

Example:

POST /v1/users/user_789/review Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json {   "entries": [     {"entry_id":"entry_456", "result":"correct", "response_time_ms": 1200}   ],   "timestamp": "2025-09-01T12:34:56Z" }

Response:

{   "updated": [     {       "entry_id": "entry_456",       "srs_level": 4,       "next_review_date": "2025-09-05T12:34:56Z"     }   ] }

Collections

GET /collections POST /collections GET /collections/{id} PATCH /collections/{id} DELETE /collections/{id}

Collections are useful for grouping words (lessons, themes).

Example add words to collection:

POST /v1/collections/col_123/words Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json {   "word_ids": ["word_12345", "word_67890"] }

Search & Advanced Querying

GET /search

Full-text search across lemmas, definitions, and example sentences.
Params: q, language, fuzzy=true|false, limit, offset, filters (json-encoded)

Example fuzzy search: GET /v1/search?q=serendip&fuzzy=true&language=en

Bulk Import / Export

POST /bulk/import

Accepts CSV, JSONL, or ZIP of assets. Returns job_id for asynchronous processing.

GET /bulk/jobs/{job_id}

Poll for status, errors, and results.

GET /bulk/export

Params: format=csv|jsonl, filter params. Returns download URL.

Analytics & Usage

GET /analytics/users/{user_id}

Aggregated stats: review counts, retention rate, most-difficult words.

GET /analytics/words/{word_id}

Usage: frequency of reviews, average correctness, example sentence performance.

Error Handling & Best Practices

Common status codes:
- ⁄₂₀₁: Success
- 400: Bad request (validation)
- 401: Unauthorized (token missing/expired)
- 403: Forbidden
- 404: Not found
- 429: Rate limit exceeded
- 500–599: Server errors
Use idempotency keys for write endpoints to avoid duplicate creation (Idempotency-Key header).
Validate payloads client-side to reduce 4xx responses.
Cache GET requests where appropriate; use ETag/If-None-Match for efficient sync.

Integration Patterns

Real-time vs Batch

Real-time: Use for lookups, onboarding, live quizzes.
Batch: Use bulk import/export for migrations, periodic syncs.

Syncing user vocab

Strategy:
1. Store local change log with timestamps and operation type.
2. Push changes to VocDB using bulk endpoints or per-entry APIs.
3. Resolve conflicts by last-writer-wins or server-side merge policies.

Offline-first apps

Keep a local copy of relevant collections and queue updates. Use background sync and the SRS review endpoint once online.

Code Examples

JavaScript (fetch) — Get a word

const API = "https://api.vocdb.example.com/v1"; const token = process.env.VOCDB_TOKEN; async function getWord(id) {   const res = await fetch(`${API}/words/${id}`, {     headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`, Accept: "application/json" }   });   if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Fetch failed: ${res.status}`);   return res.json(); }

Python (requests) — Add word

import os, requests API = "https://api.vocdb.example.com/v1" TOKEN = os.getenv("VOCDB_TOKEN") def add_word():     payload = {         "lemma": "serendipity",         "language": "en",         "part_of_speech": "noun",         "definitions": ["the occurrence of events by chance in a beneficial way"]     }     r = requests.post(f"{API}/words", json=payload, headers={         "Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}",         "Content-Type": "application/json"     })     r.raise_for_status()     return r.json()

curl — SRS review submission

curl -X POST "https://api.vocdb.example.com/v1/users/user_789/review"    -H "Authorization: Bearer $VOCDB_TOKEN"    -H "Content-Type: application/json"    -d '{     "entries": [{"entry_id":"entry_456","result":"correct","response_time_ms":1200}],     "timestamp":"2025-09-01T12:34:56Z"   }'

Security Considerations

Rotate API keys regularly and use scoped tokens.
Use HTTPS everywhere and validate TLS certificates.
Limit returned fields to minimum required (partial responses) to reduce data exposure.
Apply role-based access control on operations like bulk import/export and analytics.

Performance & Scaling Tips

Use pagination and filters for large datasets.
Prefer bulk endpoints for imports/exports.
Use server-side caching and CDN for static assets (audio files).
For high-throughput integrations, request elevated rate limits and use parallelized imports with backoff.

Troubleshooting

401 after long sessions: refresh token or re-authenticate.
429 during burst imports: throttle parallelism and use job-based bulk import.
Sync conflicts: implement clear merge rules and use last-modified timestamps.

Example Integration: Simple Flashcard App Flow

On user sign-up, fetch predefined collections via GET /collections?owner=official.
Import chosen collection locally; fetch word details as needed.
Store user vocab entries with POST /users/{user_id}/vocab when user starts learning.
During reviews, POST results to /users/{user_id}/review to update SRS.
Periodically sync local changes with server using bulk import/export.

Extensibility & Webhooks

Webhooks: Subscribe to events like word_created, review_completed, collection_updated. Endpoint: POST /webhooks to create, with secret signing.
Plugins: Support for pronunciation providers, TTS, and third-party metadata enrichers via extension points.

Conclusion

VocDB’s API provides a full-featured platform for vocabulary storage, retrieval, and personalized learning. Key integration takeaways: use bulk operations for scale, employ SRS review endpoints for learning flows, and design offline-first clients with robust sync and conflict resolution. The examples above give a practical starting point — adapt request patterns, caching, and error handling to your app’s needs.

VocDB API Deep Dive: Endpoints, Examples, and Integration Notes